Chiropractor in Croydon : Chiropractor, Dr. Roddy Knight

As a chiropractor in Croydon I understand back pain...I suffered for 6 years and understand the pain and immobility associated with excruciating back pain.

I had never had any back pain until I was 25, it all started after bowling in the cricket nets. I'd been taking a Christmas break from University and been playing in forty degree heat during the middle of the day all month in Perth WA. I'd start the day early with a workout at the gym, then play tennis and cricket in the afternoon. The problem was I had been running around with a short right leg for 25 years. It was only picked up by a chiropractor when on Christmas day I couldn't move.

I suffered from excruciating back pain...

On Christmas morning I went down to the cricket nets and bowled underarm to a beginner. When I went to stand up I couldn't straighten my back. I thought a warm bath would help, and sure enough it did, but as soon as the heat effect wore off I collapsed in a heap on the floor and really couldn't move at all. It was embarrassing as everyone was ready to go to their relatives house and there I was on the floor. Worse still was that nobody could understand the excruciating pain I was in.

It took me 2 hours to crawl up the stairs into bed, each movement was agony. I found getting in any position was uncomfortable and had to use a jam jar to urinate as I couldn't get out of the bed to get to the toilet. The next day i had to get in the car and borrow some crutches from one of the 80 year old family members. Over the next week I gradually read and learned about the pain I was experiencing. Several contributing factors were that I was severely dehydrated, I used heat instead of cold packs and I hadn't corrected my leg length inequality with a compensatory heel lift.

An X-ray revealed a congenital right leg discrepancy of 11mm, which was corrected with a heel lift. I needed regular spinal re-alignments, adjustments with manipulative therapy, interferential and therapeutic ultrasound every day for 2 weeks.

Had I sought chiropractic care earlier, this leg length inequality could have been fixed with a compensatory heel lift and I would have been more cautious of overloading my right side during weight training and running.

As a chiropractor in Croydon I feel I am well placed to give advice, listen and provide excellent therapy because I have been in their shoes, which I think has made me a better chiropractor. I know what works and what doesn't. People can say they are sceptics and that's fine, I don't claim to treat any condition successfully other than musculoskeletal joint restrictions with associated muscle spasm.

People with symptoms of "sciatica" may receive a full evaluation and if it is deemed that they are not experiencing sciatica and only have referred pain from tight joints and muscles then they may receive some relief from therapy, but only after a full evaluation.

Education

My secondary school was Caterham and I experienced 5 years of school on Saturdays. It was a day school and boarding school. There I realized sport was far more enjoyable then sitting at a desk and it made me determined to seek a career outside of an office environment. I studied Sports and Exercise Science at the University of Grenwich and worked as a personal trainer in South London, helping out at three London marathon's for the Children's Trust Charitable Organisation as a sports therapist.

While working at Beatty Park as a personal trainer I completed a remedial and sports massage certification, which was also beneficial in helping me provide care to students at the Australian University games in September 2004. Murdoch University was the place I studied chiropractic. It was a long degree, but I am so grateful for being accepted into the course. After completing a 5 year Doctorate of Chiropractic I was one of a small group of "Pallister's"pioneer's to be the first graduates from that programme in West Australia.

Our Philosophy

At our Croydon chiropractic clinic we take time with our patients, priding ourselves on offering the best possible chiropractic care and returning them to an acceptable level of health in a timely fashion. At our chiropractic clinic we look at each patient's case individually and do not require to X-ray every patient.

We don't believe in straightforward "cold cracking" and instead provide a more holistic, grounded and well rounded approach to patient care. We combine sports therapies from other professions techniques together with the use of worldwide chiropractic techniques, rehabilitation and exercise prescription for general and sports specific purposes.

Life outside the clinic

My wife Sacha and I have a baby boy named Zavier, born on 23rd August 2008. We have climbed a health hurdle ourselves as Sacha has a genetic lysosomal storage disease- Fabry disease which was diagnosed when she was 24, just a few months before the birth of our son. We take part in community activities and charitable work for the Mucopolysaccharide Society (MPS).

We believe in John Lennon's song imagine and wish the world would adopt it as its international anthem. The children are our future and the world for them should be better than it is for us.

My mother has rheumatoid arthritis and we have learned to live with the changes and restrictions that it imposes on the afflicted. So in all, through life events, experience and treating life on its merits by the day I feel I have much to relate to everyday people. I regard my patients as friends and deliver the best possible care I can in order to help in the best way I know.

Now that you've seen what we do at our Croydon chiropractic clinic, we welcome you to take the next step in regaining your health by making an appointment for a check-up by either giving our office a call, or via email using the link below.